Ex-ABC News Correspondent Jim Avila Dies at 69 After ‘Long Illness’
What To Know
- Jim Avila, a former ABC News correspondent, has died at age 69 after a “long illness.”
- Avila had a distinguished career spanning several decades and earned multiple awards for his work.
- He is survived by his three children, mother, siblings, and was remembered for his courage in facing health challenges, including a kidney transplant donated by his brother.
Former ABC News correspondent Jim Avila has died at the age of 69.
ABC News Live’s Diane Macedo shared the news on Thursday, November 13, informing viewers that Avila “passed away after a long illness.”
“Jim was an L.A.-based correspondent specializing in politics, justice, law, and consumer investigations for nearly two decades,” Macedo went on to state. “He also worked in the White House and broke the news that the U.S. and Cuba had reopened diplomatic relations. That story earned him the prestigious Merriman Award from the White House Correspondents Association.”
She continued, “After leaving ABC News, Jim joined the ABC affiliate in San Diego as a senior investigative reporter covering a wide range of stories with depth and fairness. Jim also faced health challenges with courage, including a kidney transplant donated by his brother.
ABC News President, Almin Karamehmedovic, said in a Thursday statement, “We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan, and we thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking out the truth.”
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According to his ABC bio, Avila began his career in the 1970s as a radio and TV broadcaster for KCBS Radio and KPIX in San Francisco. He later served as an on-air reporter in Chicago before working as an anchor and investigative reporter for KNBC in L.A. From 1994 to 1996, Avila was “the principal reporter on the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, helping the station earn the 1995 Golden Mike Award and a 1996 Emmy Award,” his bio states.
Avila eventually made his way to NBC. “Since 1997, Avila averaged 130 reports a year on Nightly News, which was the highest number for any minority in broadcast history,” his ABC bio reads. “Before being named National Correspondent at NBC, Avila was a Chicago bureau correspondent where he covered high-profile events including the shootings in Colorado, Arkansas and Kentucky.”
He joined ABC News in 2004 and “covered the White House from 2012 to 2016,” per his bio. Avila left the network in 2021 after undergoing a kidney transplant, but returned to the small screen in 2023 as an investigative reporter for ABC’s San Diego affiliate KGTV.
Avila’s exact cause of death has not been confirmed. The Los Angeles Times, however, reports that Avila passed away due to complications from a fall and had been in hospice care for six weeks.
In addition to his three children, Avila is survived by his mother, Eve Simon, brothers Jai and Thomas Avila, and his sister, Kari Lemay.
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